Top Ten Pound-for-Pound

Here's my pound-for-pound list. I take into account ability and accomplishment. The previous list was posted on July 3, 2019.

1. Saul Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) [1]
2. Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) [3]
3. Naoya Inoue (19-0, 16 KOs) [2]
4. Terence Crawford (36-0, 27 KOs) [4]
5. Errol Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) [8]
6. Gennady Golovkin (40-1-1, 35 KOs) [5]
7. Olexandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) [7]
8. Leo Santa Cruz (36-1-1, 19 KOs) [6]
9. Josh Taylor (16-0, 12 KOs) [Not ranked]
10. Jose Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) [Not ranked]

Exiting the list:
Mikey Garcia (38-1, 30 KOs) [9]
Olexandr Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) [10]

1. Only Pacquiao has a better resume than Canelo, but Canelo is in his prime. he just moved up to take a light heavyweight belt against a top 3 fighter in the division. The other guys on the top ten list haven't fought anywhere near the level of competition as the Canelo. Canelo's skills have improved greatly and he has a very tough chin.

2. While Campbell didn't have the pro success to add too much to Loma's resume, he was much bigger and had a great amount of amateur success. He's a featherweight who's cleaning out the lightweight division.

3. Inoue won the World Boxing Super Series with a tough victory over former pound-for-pound veteran Nonito Donaire. It's one of those wins that will probably look better as time goes by. It was a real test for Inoue and he showed his mettle. The problem is I expected him to blast Donaire out of there as Inoue has done to everyone else. Donaire crawled into the final, but impressed, so perhaps Donaire is still that good, or maybe I overrated Inoue.

4. Crawford is undeniably skilled. Good for him and his family for making money feasting on a certain level of competition. But for the pound-for-pound list, he has to start facing top level guys. ESPN embarrassingly tried to promote Amir Khan as an elite opponent. Yeah, maybe in 2010. For now, it's hard to argue Crawford is #1 because even Inoue- in about half the bouts- has fought tougher guys.

5. Spence has been fighting better opponents than Crawford. He won a close decision over Porter, a legit top 20 pound-for-pound fighter. I liek Crawford's ability and multiple dimensions, but Spence's size and strength could carry the day against Crawford. Let's make it happen!

6. Golovkin won a close decision over Derevyanchenko. The latter is a good fighter, but a prime GGG wipes him out. Spence's win over Porter is the better victory and he's had more recent success against better fighters than Golovkin.

7. Usyk moved up to heavyweight and beat a journeymen. The former cruiserweight champ should make some noise at heavyweight despite being undersized.

8. It has been a year and half since he beat Mares and three years since he avenged his lone defeat and beat Carl Frampton. His level of competition has fallen and he might exit the top ten without a good win in 2020.

9. Taylor took a close decision against Regis Prograis, who was a top 15 pound-for-pound fighter. He also has a victory over Viktor Postol, which was Crawford's toughest opponent by far.

10. Ramirez had three wins over good opponents before beating Maurice Hooker impressively in July. I'd love to see Ramirez against Taylor or Prograis. Instead, he's facing Viktor Postol in February.

Exiting: Garcia hasn't fought since his disappointing loss to Spence. He's #11. Gvozdyk lost to Artur Beterbiev, who is a top 20 guy despite his crude style because of his power. I'd like to see Beterbiev face Bivol. The winner would likely make the top 10 list.

Honorable mentions:
In addition to Beterbiev and Bivol, Pacquiao deserves a mention. So do Gervonta Davis, Juan Francisco Estrada, and Gary Russell. I'd also like to see those 122 pound guys (Navarrete, Roman, Rigondeaux, and  Vargas) sort themselves out. A couple wins by those guys would likely put them on the list.